later mitt romney campaigns and that virginia along with his running mate paul ryan. coverage begins at 6:45 eastern. today's washington journal is about last night's debate with your calls. host: the candidates have spoken and the pundits have reacted. now it is your turn to way and on the first presidential debate of campaign 2012. the next three hours are devoted to hearing your views of last night's debate in denver. you can see the numbers on your screen. if you are a romney supporter --

please allow 30 days between your calls. you can also send us a tweet. we are using a different address this morning. that is the hashta we are using this morning. you can also make a comment on our facebook page or send us an e-mail. we want to get your reactions to what you think of the debate. we want to start off by showing you the huffington post this morning. here it is, "romney wins the night." this is from "the hill" newspaper.

in "the hill" again --

that is from "the hill." here is "politico."

that is from "politico." time to hear from you. the first presidential debate is over. we're going to begin with old c- span watcher joe in the georgia. caller: i thought it was a tremendous win for mitt romney. can you hear me ok? host: we are listening. caller: i think this is a game changer. i think he will be elected and he will be the greatest president in the history of the country. i could not even sleep last night. i thought it was a total home

run. i am so fired up. everybody at the barbecue was so excited. i do not have the words to say -- i will turn it on like anything you have ever seen for the next five weeks. he will be the best president in history. host:next is ann, a president obama supporter. caller: good morning. i think exactly the opposite. i think mitt romney looked almost manic and his appearance. i have never seen him flailing his arms around. he told so many lies. he completely turned around all of the things he has been running on the for the past 18 months. he even through the tax policy

away. he just changed everything. it was really unbelievable. i think many people looked at him being more aggressive. that is what they were rewarding. once people started paying attention to exactly why he said, they would see that his -- that he told so many lies and distorted what he was trying to say. i think the president look very presidential. he was not aggressive. he explained exactly what he wanted to say. i thought the whole purpose of the debate was for each one to explain what their policy was. romney just completely changed. that is what was so -- i guess it is not so surprising, because that is what he has done is flip-floping. i hope the president would get an ad out or they show what he has been saying and what he said

last night. host: that was an from north carolina. this is from the president's home town newspaper. pieces.susan page's -- piece. she writes --

the podium in front of him not even adorned with the presidential seal. at times he sounded annoyed and defensive about having his tenure challenged in a way presidents rarely are.

that is a little bit of her article this morning. here is a little bit more from the debate last night. >> my plan has five basic parts. get as energy independent. that creates 4 million jobs. open up more trade, particularly in latin america. crackdown on china when they cheat. make sure our people have the skills to succeed, and the best schools in the world. yet as to a balanced budget. champion small business. it is small business that creates jobs in america. over the last four years they have decided america might not be the place to open new business. i know what it takes to get

small business going again and to hire people. i am concerned the path we are on has been unsuccessful. the president has a view similar to what he had four years ago. a bigger government, spending more, taxing more, regulating more, trickle-down government would work. host: facebook.com/span. what were the highs and lows of the debate is what we had on our facebook page. we're trying to read as many of those as possible. here is the front page of "the news york times." gil from pensacola, florida on our others line. caller: as a debate, i think that mitt romney did very well. this is a about a campaign.

the question is where were you then and how are you now? how will you bring it around? what do you have to do to change tax policy? people can see a point in time at any minute and make a decision, but if you are looking at the long road, i keep saying, okay, mr. obama, what are you going to change to get the house and the senate to work together? mr. romney, what is your plan? which of the plants that you talk about are you there for? -- which of the plans are you there for? are you going to give a 20% across the board tax reduction? as a person that follows this stuff, i find it is difficult to take one minute in the evening

and say, yes, this guy really did it. i look at it and try to see what is down the road. how do you turn the country around when you cannot raise revenue but you have to pay huge debt? you cannot pass it on to your kids, but i am not willing to pay for it. host: with all that said, did last night's debate held gel who you will vote for? caller: it raised more questions and it brings me more interest to watch in the future. the next debate and the campaign -- let's hear the facts. do not give me a lot of "mom, apple pie." i want to see facts. i remain undecided. i could go either way, but i really believe it is a matter of

being honest with the people and telling us how to get out of the mass. host: next up is a romney supporter. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i watched the debate and i really thought mitt romney had a real good night. everything that president obama accused him of, he had an answer for. he had all the facts and figures in front of him to tell exactly what he was doing. he did a good job as far as explaining what he would do for energy policy, education, for jobs. that came across really strong. one comment about $90 billion given to bring jobs where we could have hired 2 million teachers really made a huge difference on that, too.

president obama looks like he was uncomfortable. he did not look like he wanted to be there. mitt romney had a good night. whether that will show up at the polls is another story. i think mitt romney has a good shot now. if they get mitt romney in there, it is a win for a america, too. host: of next is bernard in south carolina. hello. caller: how are you doing? i do not understand what the caller was saying because mitt romney did not explain anything. he kept saying he knew how to do it, but he never said how he was going to do it. he brought up a lot about what obama had done, but what is he going to do? if he has a plan to do something, it seems like he ought to lay that plan out for

the american people so he can say what he is going to do. to me he is not saying anything. thank you for taking my call this morning. people need to look at the facts and what he is saying before they make a decision. host: front page of "the wall street journal," here is there headline: "romney holds his own and then some."

here is a little bit more from last night to oppose the debate. >> all of this is possible. we do have to close the deficit. one thing we will discuss tonight is how to deal with the tax code and how to make sure we are reducing spending in a responsible way and how to have enough revenue to make those investments. this is where there is a difference because gov.

romney's central plan calls for a five trillion dollar tax cut on top of the bush and -- the bush tax cuts which is another 15 trillion dollars. how we pay for that, reduce the deficit and make the investments we need to make without dumping the costs on to middle class americans is one of the central questions of the campaign. host: from our facebook page, here are some of the comments we have been the scene. -- we have been seeing.

those are just some of the comments again. now, we certainly have a lot of tweets here that we want to read as well. doug says --

the new york times editorial this morning --

greg on the independent line. thank you for holding. what did you think of the debate? caller: thank you once again for having me on. i seem to be lucky to get on

when you are on. i am a 33-year watcher of c- span. i thought without question that gov. romney won the debate last night. i thought the president was listening to a lot of repugnance and also to his adviser -- a lot of the pundits and also to his advisers to not be as a professor tutorial in his responses. mitt romney clearly had the night last night as far as the debate itself. i think they need to go back to the drawing board and allow barack obama to be barack obama. not so much again as have the appearance of the president, which he is. i have heard most of the pundits were saying that the president

should not go on the attack and he should look more presidential and not necessarily play the blame game as to what brought us here. congratulations to mr. romney on his performance. host: does that crystallize who you will vote for? caller: i thought mr. romney was very disingenuous. i watched the debates from top to bottom. jim lehrer asked mr. romney whether he supported the the vouchers that mr. ryan would be introducing to senior citizens. he dodged that question like a football player going through a pittsburgh steelers last night. i am a little cleared out. i would appreciate a lot more honesty on mr. romney's part. i probably will be leading toward the president. i am still winning.

host: do you have two minutes? stay on the line. we will get a romney supporter on the line. i want to hear a little back and forth that we will moderate here. caller: sure. thank you. host: what did you think of the debate? caller: i enjoyed it and i thought to mitt romney 1. i was a 23-year coal miner for many years. barack obama is wanting to do away with coal. i want to see mitt romney come back to my area and talk about call. we have a lot of people down here suffering because barack obama has shut down the coal business. i am a christian voters. i like to take the bible and lay it down and look at it and see

which president i would like to vote for. i cannot find anything in the bible that i can vote for for barack obama. he does not have anything i can vote for him more. you turn over to romans chapter 1 and it talks about homosexuality and is an abomination of god. the two exodus' chapter 20 it talks about not killing babies. he is proud of it. there is no way a christian voters can vote for barack obama. host: some of the issues you just discussed were not discussed last night, or they? caller: they have been discussed in the past. i know mitt romney says he is against the homosexuality and will not vote for gay marriage. that is another thing he is against -- do not go in debt. when you become a debtor, you are a slave to whoever you

borrowed the money from. host: our last caller suggested that mr. romney was not telling the truth or he was not giving details and he did not hear a lot. did i say that correctly? caller: absolutely. he was very disingenuous and dodging the voucher question. host: do you agree with that statement? caller: i think out of the two candidates mitt romney will be the best. we know what barack obama has none. we can see what he has done. jobs have been lost and the country is going in the wrong direction. the country is heading every which way. host: what do you think about that? the four years? caller: the four years of

president obama? i think he had a tough task. when people look at the facts versus having opinions, the fax suggested the president had a huge mountain to climb to try to get the country back into solvency. i think he is doing that. on the other side of the coin, i was very struck by mr. romney not knowing that companies are given tax breaks by the law to take their jobs out of the united states. mr. romney says he has never heard of that law before. i think that is why the president looked so incredulous in terms of his response. there are incentives to take jobs out of the country. laypeople like me even know that. that is another part of him being disingenuous where he was way off the mark.

host: any response to that? caller: the bible says this. if a nation will please got a, everything turns out right. all you have to do is please god. barack obama has not pleased god. he is involved in the homosexuality. he gave money for abortions. god and everything we have. he owns it all. he controls at all. all we have to do is please god and everything will turn out good. host: thank you for participating this morning. we appreciate it. lead editorial in "the washington times" --

now, in just a minute we are going to switch of the phone lines a little bit as we go.

in just a minute we will change them. we will take two more calls. we will talk to linda from texas and carl from kansas. after that we want to hear from swing state voters only. you know if you are a swing state. targeting relentless commercials on the air from both sides. candidates are coming to visit you. the president will be holding a rally in the denver after last night's debate. he will be holding a rally at noon and that will be live on c- span. then he will go on to the university of wisconsin in madison for another rally this afternoon. this evening the mitt romney will be holding a rally like our last caller mentioned in the virginia. he will be joining up with paul

ryan. that is at 6:45 eastern time. those two rallies right after the debate will both be live on c-span. in just a minute, here is how we will switch up the lines. we want to hear from swing state voters only. same division of lines. in "the new york post" is an outline of swing states. we will show you what they are. if you do not live in one of these states, hold off calling because we really want to hear from swing state voters. everyone seems to be focused on them. florida has obama up by one point. ohio has president obama by points.

colorado, three points for the president. i was 4 points for the president. nevada nine points for obama. nevada 15 points up according to this poll. wisconsin, the president is up by nine points. in michigan and there is a 12 point difference. pennsylvania, a seven. a difference. new mexico his 11 points. those are the swing states. you know where you are from and if you're a swing state. we will begin those in just a minute after we talk to linda. caller: high. this was a great debate. finally we are reaching into substance and what is at core with the problem, which is the

stated philosophy. one is talking about how to make something go and the other is talking about why we make it go. the reasons why we wanted to go that way. we are talking about the difference between service and sales. mr. romney is presenting a good case for service. he does the math in and out. he has been in corporate for 15 years. he has all the technical skills to carry out the goals of the philosophy and the people. he makes the best arguments so far about why to have a constitutional amendment voted on by the people as co presidency that would provide a

connection between left and right to that would turn us into a unilateral one party system. it would shed what makes us different and apart from each other. host: that was linda, and this is carl on our other line. caller: i just think they are both liars a pretty much. i do not believe any of them. that is all i have to say. host: that was carl. all right. for the next hour or so we want to hear from swing state voters. we will begin taking the calls

in just a minute after we show you this piece of the video from last night's debate. >> let me tell you exactly what obamacare did. if you have health insurance, it does not mean a government takeover. you keep your own insurance and your own doctor. it does say insurance companies cannot jerk you around. they cannot propose arbitrary lifetime limits. they have to let you keep your kids and your insurance plan until they are 26 years old. it also says that you are going to have to get rebates if insurance companies are spending more on administrative costs and profits than they are on actual care. if you do not have health insurance, we are setting up a group plan that allows you to benefit from group rates typically 18% lower than if you are out there trying to get insurance on the individual market. the last. i will make before --

>> your minute is up. >> i had five seconds before you interrupted me. the irony is that we have seen this model works really well and massachusetts. gov. romney did a good thing to working with democrats in the state to set up what is essentially the identical model. as a consequence, people are covered their. has not destroyed jobs. as a consequence, we now have a system where we have the opportunity to start bringing down costs as opposed to leaving millions of people out in the cold. host: all right. we want to get your impressions of last night the's presidential debate in denver. we're going to put the numbers up on the screen. go ahead and dial in.

swing state voters only for this next segment. we are going to begin with a romney supporter and ohio. caller: how are you this morning? i have not slept all night after hearing the debate. i thought it was amazing. romney had all the points on the head. i am so tired of hearing these obama supporters saying he does not have a plan. he stated exactly what he was going to do. if you make more jobs, you will have more revenue. if he supports small businesses and those businesses that would be individual tax brackets, they would have to pay more money and they are struggling. he is a businessman, and he knows how this works. i give him all the credit for that. i think he will be a good president because he has been in the private sector.

that is what we need to get this economy going, to have the revenue that we need. we have some much over spending in government. he wants to pinpoint the spending cuts. maybe some people do not agree on what needs to be cut, but we have to make some tough choices. he is willing to do that. he has proven he can work with democrats as well as republicans like he did in massachusetts. i believe there are a lot of things that need to be on a state level, especially when it comes to the insurance like he did in massachusetts. he has proven he can do that. what he said about the board, i do not agree with that. there are many people i in my family who work in the medical health field. i have a sister who works as a director of nursing.

she has said they are not going to be taking any more medicare patience. these people who depend on this are not going to be able to get what they need it. it will not work. i really thought romney hit all the points. i thought he laid out how he was going to do it. i think obama did not -- host: what do you do in akron? caller: i currently am on disability. it is because of a health problem. i know some people who are dependent on those payments are mostly obama supporters -- and i did vote for obama in the last election. but i hope to work a job in the future. host: being on disability, up what were your thoughts about the 47% comment that mitt romney

made? caller: i kind of agree with what he said. i do not believe all of the 47% -- there are quite a few people who are just lazy and when the government to support them. i think he does have to focus on the people who are working, because they are people paying the taxes. it is their money being used for all these programs that are a waste of money. the people who are paying into the medicare system and the deficit is increasing. our grandchildren and great- grandchildren will be paying for it. i will be going back to work shortly. i need a double hit replacement. and i will be going back to work. this is a steps down for me, this is not a lifestyle. there are quite a few people dependent on the government, using food stamps, on welfare and disability and making it a

lifestyle. that is another reason the government is using -- losing so much money. host: can you stay on the line for a minute? i want to get a president of? supporter on the line. philippe in fort lauderdale, florida. just as a reminder, and area is still on the line as well. what did you think of the debate? caller: i think last night's debate for people who do not pay attention to politics or know the issues -- for somebody who really pays attention and for somebody who knows the issues, i do not think it is such a big victory for romney. host: can you give an example of what you thought was a

misstatement or a spin? caller: when he is taking all the issues he is talking about, especially with the rise in budget or all of the things he supported, -- the rise in budget and all the things he supported, if he is going to say he has his own plan does not lay out the plan. he supported all of the republican talking points and the radical stuff they were saying. in the end he is coming around and taking pretty much everything that is good about the obama talking points, he will spin it and take all the good stuff out. he will ditch all the bad stuff. people have to open up their eyes and see what is going on. host: what did you think of that comment? caller: he said mayor romney put a spin on things, i do not think he put a spin on things at all.

he had won, 2, 3, 4, five bullet points exactly what needs to be done. when you talk about paul ryan and his running mate, things they agreed or disagreed on, he said he thought people might be able to get a better deal if there is a private insurance. depending on medicare, i know people in my family always agree with that. they want to have a choice on whether to go with private insurance or stay on medicare. he had his own agenda. he had his own plan. he answered everything. i do not think there was spent on it whatsoever. host: do you worry about the rise in the budget like philip caller: mentioned not at all. we cannot keep borrowing money

from china. host: what is your response to what andrea has to say? caller: she is worried about the debt and all the money being borrowed from china. she should want to know exactly what plan romney has. , come out and talk like you said, bullet points. take every single bullet. . what is he really saying? what are you saying to the american people? this stuff is serious. caller: the bullet points or that he was not going to raise taxes. he was going to -- small business would be able to hire people to have jobs. he laid it all out and talk about medicare, the voucher

program, and medicare running side-by-side. i heard everything he had to say and how he would accomplish it. i do not think you were listening then. caller: do you think he really cares about those people? do you think he really -- that is half of the country. how are you going to be president if you do not acknowledge half of the country as a part of the nation? what kind of president is he going to be when he says pretty much half of the country he will not worry about? that is part of america. how to guarantee health care for most of americans and romney is going to come out and talk about -- i will guarantee you can stay on their parents' health

insurance until you are 26 or whatever. he saw his campaign was going down in the toilet, that is when he started talking about health care this and that. why does he not run on the health care plan he ran in massachusetts? he wants to pick and choose -- that sounds good. then he wants to pretty much get rid of obamacare. what exactly is the plan that will be there? that is what we are talking about. caller: obamacare is going to put us further into debt. we will not have doctors or nursing homes that will take people on medicare anymore because they will not be paying anything to them. it will not make a profit. they have to be able to do that so they can buy better equipment for the hospital, so they can

provide what people in the nursing home need. they will get out -- they will go out of business. they will close their doors. where will the people go? caller: she is speaking on the point of the insurance companies and all the points of it pretty much -- the big companies. what about the people? where do the people stand in this whole thing? i thought this was about the people. host: that is andre aand phillip. thank you for participating in our conversations. health care was one of the issues discussed at the debate. here is a little bit about health care. >> when you look at obamacare, the congressional budget office has said it will cost $2,500 a year more than traditional insurance.

it is adding to cost. when the president ran for office, he said by this year he would have brought down the cost of insurance by each family. instead it has gone up by that amount. this is expensive. expensive things hurt families. second, it cut $716 billion from medicare to pay for it. i want to put that money back in medicare for our seniors. it puts in place and an elected board that tells people what treatments they can have it. i do not like that idea. there was a survey done of small businesses across the country that says what has been the effect of obamacare on your hiring plans. three-quarters said it makes us less likely to hire people. i do not know how the president could come into office facing 23 million people out of work, an economic crisis at the table and spent two years of his passion

fighting for obamacare. it has killed jobs. the best course for health care is to do what we did in my state. craft a plan at the state level that fits the need of the state. and focus on getting the costs down for people rather than raising it with a $2,500 additional premium. host: that was mitt romney talking about health care. on our facebook page this morning, rich comments --

our next call from a swing state is an undecided voter f, virginia. what did you think about last night's debate? caller: after last night to oppose the debate, i am more inclined to vote for big bird. i cannot understand how romney is going to do the things he

said he was going to do. it is like -- i say i will clean my house, but i do not know where the vacuum cleaner is. once i find it, i may not know how to operate it. that was the impression i got. there are a lot of people that can stand cash behind a podium and tell you what this country needs. -- stand behind a podium and tell you what this country needs. as far as obama goes, i was leaning toward obama before the debate, but i miss obama. i do not know where he went. in 2008, obama talked to the people. people could relate to what he was saying. he understood where he wanted to go with his ideas. last night, where was he? who was he talking to? i think i am a pretty intelligent person, but i missed

half of what he was saying. he needed to talk to his voters. he needed to stand up to romney. when romney said things that were obviously not true, obama needed to tell the people. i did not hear that. i am is still undecided. i would like to hear more of obama refuting, if he can, what romney is saying. i would like to hear more of mitt romney's plan that if obama is not telling the truth about your plans, we need to hear where his plans are going to take us and how he is going to actually make them work. host: that was virginia from florida. david is a mitt romney supporter in arlington,

virginia. what did you think about the debate? caller: i am a reluctant romney supporter because of the abomination of the last four years. i am in arlington virginia and i have to tell other callers, they should come to arlington and see the ridiculousness that has become our central government across the river. there is a real estate bubble going on in arlington, va. that is sucking all of your tax dollars across the country. it is all flowing into washington, d.c., and creating a real estate boom here and mounds of jobs while the rest of the country suffers. when i go to my in-laws or my family members elsewhere in the country, it is a world away. this is what you get when you keep giving government power over your lives, keep letting

them into your bedroom, and keep letting them do everything that the constitution says they do not have a right to do. romney is not my ideal guy, but i have to tell you, after what we have seen over the last four years, i do not know how anybody out there -- even if you are a democrat and believe in civil liberties -- this guy is all about the foreign wars. i do know if it will be any better with romney. he is a big government i through and through. host: that was david from arlington, virginia. this is "the daily caller." charlotte, n.c., and obama supporter. hello. what did you think about the debate?

caller: i thought gov. romney came in as being well rehearsed. i feel that obama stood by what he stood by four years ago. he was in a deadlocked congress. he was not given a fair chance to provide us with the goals he tried to achieve and the four years. i feel he has not been given the respect of a president of the united states. i feel that america has lost their respect of a president. he was not given a fair opportunity to -- about what he

said he was going to do. that is wired we have a more unemployed ray -- he was not given a chance. host:from cnn -- here is a little bit of the article from the web site. 57% say mitt romney, 25% say barack obama. that is from cnn.com. here is "the huffington post."

huffingtonpost.com for the full article. following the debates as all watchers know, the spin room was active at the university of denver where surrogates' came in from both sides to say why there can did it was the best. marco rubio was in there for mitt romney. >> i think we have a new race. i think it is pretty clear. the president was incredibly uncomfortable discussing taxes and debt. the arguments for candidacy is a mile wide but 1 inch thick. there was a startling moment when the president turned to the moderator and said, maybe it is

time to change the subject. the second thing very clear was how much the president's attacks on romney are based on myths. there was one moment where they were talking about 3% of taxpayers would be affected by the increases in taxes. the reality is gov. romney pointed out, they happen to be the ones that create the most jobs and hundreds of thousands of jobs would be threatened if his ideas on taxes were put into place. i think for the first time the american people saw two man standing next to each other inside dramatic difference between somebody running a campaign based on realistic ideas and a president whose entire campaign and presidency is based on rhetoric and a myth. >> the factor on his side. the president could not justify his position. the first 30 minutes were painful to watch.

he kept going around and around on the tax issue. he trumpeted out the old attack line says campaign was using. the governor was running with the facts. when he realized he run out of things to say that were not true, he wanted to change the subject. he said, maybe we should discuss something else. he was clearly uncomfortable host: we continue to hear your views on last night's presidential debate. this is "the washington post" this morning. the analysis at the bottom of this picture says, "we have a new race." that is the headline.

host: this article continues --

host: here is david plouffe in the spin room. [video clip] >> look at this. "this president should be on his smart phone." mitt romney was very aggressive. you understand what we have been communicating to voters. he has been doing that for months.

we think has been very effective. [indiscernible] host: "there seemed to be little doubt," "the washington post" writes -- host: this article sets the scene in denver yesterday and i want to read a little bait of this.

host: that is a little bit from "the washington post" this morning. kim, what did you think of the debates? caller: the debate was very interesting. the delivery of mitt romney was much better. when you go to obama, his delivery sucked. what he said had more facts or data than what mitt romney said. that is the part that hurts in

this campaign. mitt romney, his delivery was so much better. sometimes people vote based on popularity. host: you are leaning towards president obama but not fully committed? caller: i am an independent in certain views. but obama has to do better with his delivery. his delivery is not up to par. mitt romney, you cannot debate what he set out of his mouth. nobody brought up that he said 47% of americans need the government to help them. we pay taxes. i pay taxes every year.

we are supporting america. it was sad from president obama's perspective. host: where do you agree with the republicans? caller: i agree with the republicans with same-sex marriage and that we need to do more with our business. the way things look is really sad. host: next is a mitt romney supporter in pennsylvania, mark. do you think that romney has a chance in pennsylvania? caller: i think it is looking good for him. everybody is talking about the 47%. you are talking - the

republicans got locked out and could not give their point of view on obamacare. now everybody is worried about what mitt romney said. i am totally flabbergasted over this. obama was talking about the tax cuts that they are given to companies overseas. koch -- he had four years to do something about it. you had the lady that was just on a little while ago and she was talking about -- i lost my train of thought. host: barber in missouri -- barbara in missouri --

host: with regard to the debate, marcie e-mails in -- host: a president obama supporter from florida, this is

william. hi, william. caller: let me interject i am a former massachusetts resident. romney did not pull the wool over my eye when i was a massachusetts resident. i don't think he can pull the wool over our eyes now with his doublespeak. he talked about pre-existing conditions. it would keep pre-existing conditions but he does not mention the people that have preexisting conditions and are not insured. there is so many things he doesn't explain. people have to realize that when a republican gets to washington or democrat gets to washington,

most of their policy will be party policy. these independents that say, i am undecided are not undecided. they either follow the democratic policy or the republican policy. to say you are an independent -- i cannot understand where that are coming from. host: that was william in florida. this is the front page of "the baltimore sun." "the washington times." "debate is not the last word on presidential race."

host: "washington times." keisha is undecided. caller: i was disappointed in the president. i wanted to hear more about the health care plan.

i did some research about his health care plan. he had a health-care plan back in 2010. all obamacare people will have to get a chip implanted. i wanted mitt romney to ask him about that. i thought mitt romney did a great job about explaining himself and the economy. neither candidate brought the comment about each other. i'm waiting for the next debate. i voted for john mccain. host: what do you do in pittsburgh? caller: i am a nurse. host: are you on the phone and driving?

caller: yes. host: i was going to put it mitt romney and president obama supporter on and see if they could convince you which way to vote. not when you're driving. i would feel guilty. thank you and call back. frank in ohio. caller: i was at a point until i looked at the soap opera last night. supposedlyerstand how the government and the churches -- i thought there would be a dividing point between them. i feel like one of those 47% people now because the job that i had -- i have lost that due to

certain situations. not of my fault. secondly, to me it looks like a sham. host: the debate did? caller: yes. the point that mr. obama brought over -- he was consistent with it. he did not force it. he looked like he knew what he was talking about. he was pulling stuff out of the air and grinning like howdy doody. host: did you change your mind? are you still supporting mitt romney? caller: everything he was talking about 3 1/4 months ago, he has turned it around and now he is for all those things.

how can you trust someone? everything he said he was going to do, he turned that around. you do not know what is happening now. host: that is frank in toledo. we have a tweet from gee ness. in "the washington times," averageshave the poll for the candidates. they aggregate all the polls across the nation. they do an average on the polls. here are the current results. president obama with 48.9% and

mitt romney with 44.6%. taxes was another issue discussed last night. here is president obama talking about taxes. [video clip] >> to do this we have to close the deficit. how do we deal with the tax code? how do we have enough revenue to make those investments? we have a difference. mitt romney calls for a $5 trillion tax cut. that is $8 trillion. how do we pay for that without dumping those costs on middle class americans is essential

theme to this campaign. host: how are you doing? caller: good. a lot of things that were brought up was that mitt romney is a businessman and he would know what he's doing. people think about popularity and not logic and do not realize that being a businessman, what is he going to do? people fail to realize when obama got into office, there were over eight years of damaged the bush administration had done. how do you expect eight years of damage to be cured in four years? nobody brought up anything about intotion and didn't get doubt about health care. host: they talked quite a bit

about public education. caller: the current situation with student loans and those issues like that. mitt romney had mentioned shutting off pbs, which broadly to think about the fact that that is one station on television that does help other people. how to break it down and help other people that do not understand. i think that was another thing that -- the fact that a lot of the times they were talking about the tax and economy, that was like beating a dead horse. people brought up how obama was saying the same thing. i think that is because they are

beating the issue like a dead horse. you have to come up with something else to explain the economy. host: what did you do? caller: i am a student. host: do you go to fed vale state -- fayetteville state? caller: i'm from new york state. host: thank you for calling in. judy is from north carolina, mitt romney supporter. caller: good morning. host: what did you think of the debate? caller: i did not think it went far enough in some of the engines.

i have watched over the health care situation. i have read up and have had help to try to decipher a lot of it. hospitals being fined because patients coming back within 30 days for treatment, illnesses is troubling to me. i wish that had been brought up. host: thank you for call it this morning. this is the front page o f"usa today -- of "usa today." richard wolf writes --

host: that is a little bit from richard wolf. i want to conclude with this.

host: richard wolf mentions in his article about the rallies today. president obama will be live about noon in denver. c-span will carry that rally live. mitt romney and paul ryan will be together in virginia. that will be at 6:45 p.m. eastern time. that will be live. all the other debates, c-span

will carry with our pre-game and post-game. if you watched last night, you could call and afterwards and have a chat. we also have our debates hub where you can go, c-span.org. you can watch last night's debate. full coverage of all the presidential debates and the vice presidential debate. we offer debate of each debate question and the candidates' answers by topic. live streams of the sites and scenes before the debate. we have cameras outside and cameras in the spin room. it is kind of a dashboard of cameras so you can pick what you

want to watch. use the hashtag cspan2012. you can see all the tweets that are coming in under that hashtag. those are some of the items available at our debate hub, c- span.org. lot to do in the dashboard inside our campaign hub. mitt romney talked about tax cuts at the debate and here he is. [video clip] >> i do not have a tax cut of the scale you are talking about. we should provide tax relief for people in the middle class. high income people are doing just fine in this economy. the people have in the hard

times are middle income americans. middle income americans have been buried. they have been crushed. they have seen their income, down by $4,300. this is a tax in and of itself. it has been a crushing. gasoline prices have doubled on to the president. food prices are up. middle income families are being crushed. the question is how to get them going again. it is energy and trade, balancing our budgets, and helping small businesses. host: this "washington journal" this morning is devoted to three hours from you. we have been talking to swing state voters only. next up is scott from ohio,

undecided. what did you think of the debate and why are you undecided? caller: bill clinton and i voted for george bush then i voted for obama. last night romney looked like a leader. i'm not for big government. i was excited with the national health-care plan until i started talking to some friends and relatives of mine that work in the health-care industry that were expressing concern. i have an aunt that works in the health-care industry and working with the disabled. she says it will be a disaster. she knows people personally and companies that will lose the medicare to the national health care system.

they will not be able to accept medicare. that ownsme on goauncles some businesses. i don't consider them wealthy. they will be hit hard through this, if obama gets his tax increases through. host: are you leaning towards mitt romney at this point? caller: it would be hard to persuade me. that rahm it appears to be a leader. mitt romney has worked across the lines -- mitt romney appears to be a leader. i believe he will look down and will cut you off and that is what he has done with the congress.

i did not believe that we can handle another four years like we had with this government. host: 22 in ohio -- what do you do in ohio? caller: i work in the roofing business. the business is good because of hailstorms that we had. i have relatives across the country. in some states there is some worked. i have friends in the auto industry that are all about obama. other friends have jobs outside the auto industry under starving to death. i have lived in florida. the economy was bad. i have worked in the houston area.

in alabama, the economy is terrible. in georgia, the economy is terrible. host: can you stay on the line for just a second? i want to get a president obama supporter and get your reaction to that. is that ok? caller: sure. host: marie from florida. were you listening to what scott had to say? what would you say to him? caller: the health-care -- we investigated places like germany and across the border -- people are going to canada for the health-care.

they have the same health care that obama is trying to bring. i am retired and on medicare. i have to pay 20%. i didn't have it. we have to investigate the medicare before we -- mitt romney says he has it in boston , massachusetts. when i lived in new york, there was a hospital i could go to. they go according to your income. there is no teacher hospital in florida or other states. there are places in new york that you can go to. people are dying.

if you bring in obamacare, yes, there will be care. just like the first brought in -- ught like they first broade in hmos. the same thing for obamacare. they have to pay for their health care. they have to pay $2 to see a doctor. host: how strong the other supporter of president obama are you ? caller: i was unemployed when reagan came into power. host: 1982. caller: i was unemployed. i decided i would not go back into the system. i voted for clinton.

host: in 1992. caller: and i voted for clinton. i came to florida. ok? i had experience and i have some college degrees but i did not have a college degree. host: marie was talking about health care. what would you respond to her? caller: i want to give a shout out to marie. i do not like the idea of the health-care board telling me, setting guidelines of will get care and will not get care.

i guess i would term myself a conservative democrat more than anything else. i am a big pro-choice -- pro- life individual and i believe if the country is going to go the route to kill babies come i believe the next step is euthanasia of the old. i believe a free market works. i have a friend in florida and her daughter is taking advantage of the medicaid situation. her daughter was uninsured and now dealing with a brain tumor. it is a horrible situation. i like the idea of a national health care with obamacare until i started talking to people and the health-care industry.

i have not talked with anybody in the health-care industry that supports obamacare. host: marie, final word from you. caller: we have to live outside of the united states. i came from outside of the united states. people in canada are getting health care. people in the u.k. are getting health-care. i lived in new york and i became ill. there was an insurance company, mutual of omaha, and they took a certain portion of my pay each week. i got that money in my hands to pay my bills. now there is nothing that is here out of state.

it was in here in florida right now. unemployment is low. we have the minimum payment and the united states. host: i want to think scott in ohio and marie in florida for staying on the line. we get your reaction to last night's debate. 8;36 eastern time and we will switch the phone lines once again. only undecided voters. this doesn't mean, "i'm undecided but i am supporting x ." undecided is undecided. we do not need the partisans to call in on this side. this is the chance to hear from

% to 12%. from we'll put the parson folks decide. we'll make room for just the undecideds. you can see the numbers divided by where you live in the country. east and central time zones, 202-585-3880. mountain and pacific time zones, 202-585-3881. you can continue to tweet and make comments on facebook and you can continue to e-mail. undecided voters only for this section. a couple of callers have brought this up and it got a lot of play at the debate last night. big bird was the focus. here is mitt romney.

[video clip] >> i will eliminate all programs if it does not pass the test. obamacare is on my list. i use that term with all respect. i will get rid of that. i will stop the subsidy to pbs. i like big bird. that is number one. i will take good programs that could be run more efficiently at the state level. i will make government more efficient and combine some agencies and departments. my cutbacks will be made through attrition. host: this is the front page of "the atlanta constitution."

the state newspaper out of columbia, south carolina. here is "the richmond times dispatch." that is their headline. "sharp clash on economy." "showdown in denver" is how they have that phrased. this is out of phoenix. looks like they bought their suits at the same place. es," "showdown in denver." catherine in in mexico, why are

you undecided -- in new mexico. caller: we didn't get any hard facts and anyone. i wanted to know about the tax codes. host: you feel you did not get enough information? caller: no. host: what would you like to hear a candidate say? whether some of the positions you like to see them take? caller: strong positions. give us some sort of a way to decide which way we want to see america going. host: you are in new mexico.

it is considered a swing state in some regards. are you seeing television commercials? caller: no, i do not watch commercialized stations. host: ok. caller: so i'm watching you and pbs. host: that was katharine from new mexico. kim from waco, texas. caller: i did not vote for our current president. i was not impressed with him. to what think obama is going to change everything -- do i think obama is going to change everything? i do.

i feel like we need a strong leader. did not talk around it. make it clear what your views are to get us out of the situation we're in, including welfare and our economy and everything. i am a middle class american and it has been tight. i am trying to put kids through college. i need help. i need to make sure my kids get educated. i would have liked to hear more about education and college education and how we will compete against other countries. i did not see a strong leader -- if one would stand out as a strong leader, that would help. kim in waco,

texas. good morning. why are you undecided? caller: i have never voted in my life because i didn't want to get involved in politics. i have never seen a good candidate that i felt that they were telling the truth 100% and that day would be there for the entire country. i have never voted. in 2008, i was deciding to vote republican and then i changed my mind and i decided not to vote at all. this year i wanted to get involved. at this point, i just do not know who to vote for. something that obama says or changes his mind from 2008, i

did not lighke it. christian.e and a i'm sure a lot of christians feel the same way as i do. i have a son in college and it is tough to put your children through college because the fees are high and out of control. they can charge whatever they want. a student needs a good education because they are the men and women of tomorrow. host: if the voting were to take place today, who would you pull the lever for? caller: i do not know at this point. what mitt romney says about the 47% people, i'm in that category. i wanted to lean toward him.

i got injured at work a year ago and right now i'm not even receiving unemployment. i'm going to the medicaid system. thank god they are taking care of me. my doctors were not doing what they're supposed to do to diagnose me. i'd waited to see the specialist. now i am receiving proper treatment. i am also happy that my college student is able to get medical insurance through medicaid. he is still in college. those things i'm so happy for with obama but at the same time i do not like some of his views. governor romney, i didn't like his views on the 47% and i don't think he is there for the middle class. the country keeps on saying

middle class. we have no income, nowhere to live. we have nothing. that is not even a class. who is going to fight for those people/ host: -- people? thank you for calling. natasha is undecided. who did you vote for in 2008 ? caller: obama. host: why are you undecided in 2012? caller: i just put the program on a few minutes ago. last night we had a doctor in our group watching the debate.

the doctor said that, he thought one reason why president obama was lethargic was the fact that he had just flown in from washington are someplace -- host: vegas. caller: it takes a little bit of time to acclimate yourself to the high altitudes in denver. he attributed that to some of his hesitancy because normally he is a strong speaker. i did study debate in college. i was disappointed with mr. lehrer. he totally lost control. if you're going to follow the rules of debate, i think mr.

romney neglected those rules. any thought that i had toward may be voting for him kind of changed my mind because he was like a bully. some of his ideas are ok, but i'm still undecided because i think both of them say something today and the next day they change it. i found that more with governor romney. i agree with that, so there is no debate. host: we will leave it there. here is an e-mail from tom in virginia.

host: next call, patricia from california. why are you undecided? caller: it is difficult after a good debate which touched a lot of issues that i was interested in. nobody mentioned anything about foreign policy, which i consider my number one issue. for that reason, i have not picked a party this year. i was a democrat in my younger days. i agreed with our social values. however, in getting more

experienced, i understood that you cannot run a country only on taxing the people. you have to have a system that is going to produce wealth at only consume wealth. i became a republican. i have great difficulty with the republicans as well as the foreigns' focus on policy. i do not like war. i don't think we have any business being in the middle east. i follow the persuasions of ron paul but that went nowhere. obama came across last night like a college professor. he was very didactic. you could almost see him shaking his finger at the graduates whose minds would be so easily swayed. didn't work with mitt romney and

an intelligence audience. i agree jim lehrer did not enforce any time limits. why do two intelligent people need a moderator like that? they should follow their own rules. host: just how the candidates out there and let them go? caller: why not? host: what do you do? caller: i am a retired teacher. host: what did you think of the discussion on public education? caller: public education it needs a good dose of reality. all these people are so for choice except where counts, the education of your child.

i don't believe public education is in general good for the country. i think every educator has to follow certain guidelines. i don't think necessarily that public schools of the way to go, especially with the strong teachers' unions. host: did you teach in a public or private school? caller: very few public schools have teacher unions. host: that was the treasure in california. she mentioned foreign policy it was her big issue. this debate last night was centered on domestic policy. that is why foreign policy did not play a role. here are the other debates coming up. next week is the vice presidential debate. martha raddatz will be taking

care of that debate. then on tuesday, october 16, is the second presidential debate on hofstra university. the moderator will be from cnn. the foreign policy debate will take place on monday, and bob schieffer of cbs will be the moderator. that is the debate schedule. span.org, you can watch the debates. we have cameras outside and in the room and the post-stuff. have 3 or four different camera

angles. it is really a dashboard. you can choose the camera that you want to watch. you can watch past debates. you can watch specific parts of each debate. if it is in foreign policy question, just go to c-span.org and tool around a little bit. you can see all the past debates we have covered. that is the website and that is the commercial. heather from savannah, georgia. caller: i don't believe either of the candidates are what i was looking for any candidate. i did vote for obama in the previous election. i thought the united states needed a positive inspiration

and that he was the enter at the time. i too like what he is done with the health-care system. before my husband had a heart attack and we were considered pre-existing condition and with release of that, we were able to get health care that is affordable. we're paying $49 a month for health insurance as a premium -- we were paying $4,000 a month -- $1400 a month in a premium for health insurance. i volunteer with georgia cares in savannah. the program is wonderful but they are overworked and understaffed. mitt romney in the debate last night cap talk about how massachusetts was number one in

education. that is great for massachusetts. here in georgia, and not so wonderful. i cannot send my kids to public schools because they are so horrible. it is disgusting. host: it sounds like you're leaning towards the president. caller: i want to but it is up in the air. has he done something for the country? yes. has it been enough? you have the republicans and democrats. are they ever going to get together? that's like putting a dog and cat in the same room. where are we? what is the future for my kids

? host: that is have their in savannah --heather in savannah. one issue they talked about was job creation. here is president obama from last night. [video clip] >> we all know we still have a lot of work to do. the question is where we're going. governor romney has a perspective that says if we cut taxes and roll back regulations, will be better off -- we will be better off. i have a different view. we should change our tax code.

take some of the money we're saving as we wind down two wars to rebuild america. reduce our deficit and a balanced way. all the more it will be up to the voters which path we should take -- alternately -- ultimately, it will be up to the voters. host: and lead editorial about the debate last night from "the washington post." "what they would not say."

that is a little bit from the lead editorial this morning in the washington post. back to our undecided caller. john, what did you think of the debate last night? caller: i am undecided because obviously the country is going through a great deal of the issues. you know, a lot of people are hurting financially. but i, you know, i personally did not vote last time for

anybopdyp. dy. there is just so much going on. i'd like to watch and see. i liked clinton because president clinton was very -- he just was a very good president. --eel like the mess we're in we can all point fingers of course, but you know, i feel like romney hasn't yet sold me on the path he wants to take. i am not going to go by the spin, the 47%. but president obama, he shows strength but he seems like he was a little more reserved than i would have liked him to be.

yet i may be leaning more toward president obama because, to me, he seems more just a little more sincere still though. i feel maybe i'm leaning more that way because maybe the mitt romney seems like a fast talker to me. i built like a fast talker. i want answers. even though president obama has more to do on the medicare and all this stuff, i am not getting the answers yet from mitt romney. i don't think the american people should allow themselves to judge by just a debate. you have to look at everything. -mitt romney, his schooling being really good in massachusetts was a plus for me.

host: john, we are going to leave it there. susan in pennsylvania. you say it for us. caller: i have a couple points. i thought he did a better job than what we're hearing in the press today. the other thing i was looking for -- i appreciated he was trying to keep them looking at the contrast between the two of them. i was looking for ideas that would be sustainable. i was looking for someone who was thinking about the effect that their policies would have 10 years, 20 years down the road. i was really looking at sustainability because i think

there is a lot of talk and not a lot of sustainability and their plans. let me give you a few crazy ideas. healthcare. as long as anybody can go into an emergency room and receive free health care, our system is non-sustainable because somebody is going to pay for somebody else's health care. talking is the bit about food stamps. since this great recession, those numbers have almost doubled. i am not saying that they are not needed. we need to help starving people. but as long as people are receiving those things, someone else is paying for them. as far as the other thing i find frustrating is that there is no accountability. obama spent a lot of his power

pushing through obamacare. but why didn't he put some time and effort into the simpson- bowles plan? planned putting some of those bankers who were too big to fail in to jail? there has not been one banker personally affected by their choices. we just heard that the new york state attorney general is trying to sue morgan stanley. that is about it. that is a weak slap in the face. host: that is susan from pennsylvania. do you think pennsylvania is a swing state? caller: i think it is definitely a swing state. i am impressed with your viewers and their comments. what i find is i do not seem to disagree with either party, but

i feel like we have to get our heads around where our future is going to go. i am not seeing a cohesive plan on either side. i lived in an area near redding, paennsylvania. i am not making this up. every police officer, every cop and detective in seventh and 8th grade. these kids are so angry. we need to get our heads around how we are going to deal with our schools. can you even call it a school when we have armed police officers in these school buildings? host: susan, we have to leave it there. we are going to switch liens onnes once again.

we have one hour left. for this next half hour, first time voters only. that could be because you are just turning 18. or that could be like from elsa who called in earlier who said she has not participated until this point. people who are voting for the first time. that is who we want to hear from in this next segment. you can see the lines there for first time voters. we want to hear from you and get your views on last night's debate. here is a little bit more from the debate. >> i will not put in place a tax cut that adds to the

deficit. that is part 1. no economist can say that ronnie's tax plan will add $5 trillion. -- mitt romney's tax plan will add $5 trillion. it is not the case. i have five boys. i am used to people saying something not always true but keep repeating it. i will not reduce the taxes paid by high-income americans. i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on middle income families. i will lower taxes on middle income families. there are six other studies that looked at the study that you describe that say it is wrong. i looked at a study that says you are going to raise taxes on middle income families.

host: all three hours on "washington journal" open phones. we want to get your reaction. about 60 million people watched last night's debate. here is a printout of "the huffington post" home page this morning. that is on "the huffington post" home page. here is "the wall street journal"'s lead editorial.

that is just a little bit from "the wall street journal" this morning. henry in north carolina, tell us your story. why are you a first-time voter? caller: i always thought politics was politics. now i am at the point where he said 47%. one night he says he cares about everybody and the next night, 47%. i do not like a flip-flopper.

he wants to put all this to the state's. they do not have state taxes. i believe revenue -- you have to have revenue to sustain the things you have. for someone to say i am not going to raise any revenue, how would you sustain your business? i don't understand why everybody else does not see this. you have to have revenue in order to make things happen. he is supposed to be for the people. we did not ask him to raise any taxes. people are now realizing exactly what he is saying. he does not care about 47%. he has to tax somebody and it is going to be the same old thing.

host: how long have you been registered to vote and not voted in the presidential campaign ?ustome caller: i registered to vote when i was 21. i have a child now and feel like i have more of a responsibility for the future. when i hear about president obama and education, i just don't understand what other people are hearing he is going to say he is going to do. the man will not even give us his tax information. that is a simple thing to do.

i don't feel comfortable with a person going into office who will not show me his taxes. host: that was henry in north carolina. first time voters for this segment of the "washington journal." why are you a first-time voter? caller: because i wanted to help support obama. i got my wife to register and vote. we both are voting this year. host: why have you not voted in the past? liker: i don't think -- the last caller, i thought politics was just politics. this time around, everybody -- it just feels like they did not give obama enough time.

the only had four years to fisx a mess that took eight years. host: what did you think of the debate last night? caller: i think they both looked equal, you know? at the same time, i think romney -- he dide out with a not say exactly what his exact things were going to do. obama said you could check mind online. that is what i got from that. host: what do you do? caller: i do drywall, like metal framing. i'm the foreman. host: how often do you watch c- span in the morning? caller: and not often.

this is my first time tuning in. i discuss surgery on my hand for carpal tunnel. i was at home watching c-span. host: how is business? caller: it is doing good. it's been steady. host: all right. thanks. last night there was talk about specifics and talk about lack of specifics. here is president obama. >> it just reminds me he says he is going to close deductions and loopholes for his tax plan but we do not know the details. he says he is going to replace dodd-frank, wall street reform, but we do not know exactly which ones. he now says he is going to replace obamacare and in sure

the good things that are in it are going to be in their. at some point, i think the american people have to ask themselves is the reason governor mitt romney is keeping all these plans secret because they are too good? because some help middle-class families are going to benefit too much from them? host: "wall street journal" this morning --

the littlnext call, first time s only. francis in florida. tell us why you are a first-time voter and tell us what you thought about the debate last night. caller: i thought it was a pretty good debate, but to me it

was a lot of disrespect. the two things i was interested in was health care and social security. when you work all your life and you reach the age for social security and all the sudden someone comes around and says they are going to change it and they do not tell you how, neither one of them did. my granddaughter who goes to college and my great granddaughter, they did not have any. president obama i can with the health care law and guess what? she has high blood pressure and all kinds of things. what would she do? i would have to go bankrupt. host: you have great grandkids and this is your first time voting? caller: the system to me has

always been skewed. they promise you, promise you, promise you. everybody promises you everything. i also recognize it takes two to tango. if you invite somebody to the party and they do not show up, you can get by yourself but you will look stupid. host: did you registered to vote? caller: yes. host: do you plan on voting early? caller: yes. i am not going to be here forever so my granddaughter needs some social security. host: next up is brent in oregon. why are you a first-time voter? caller: i am a first-time voter because i am sick and tired of being sick and tired. i thought the debate last night was a stellar performance on romney's part.

to watch the liberal commentators last night, you know, it backed that up. those guys are scared. it inspired me and gave me hope. i am looking forward to voting this year. host: why have you not voted in the past? caller: i always felt it was a skewed process. i felt like my vote doesn't matter. as a small business owner who lost his business three years ago, i am living proof that obama's policies do not work. i want to change. i consider myself a conservative. for years, i will be 41 tomorrow.

i do not know if i republican or democrat. i have never really educated myself on that, but i agree with a lot of what romney says. more so if anything the message he was trying to get across less nine. i am sorry that he interrupted the commentators as much as he did but i am the same way when i get worked up about things that i believe in. i believe he wants to restore this country and undo a lot of the policies that keeps small business owners from going back into business. i had a small paving and grading business here in oregon. the area has been a pretty economically depressed area since 1980. it does not seem like much of

anything you do in this region -- it is hard to make a profit in this area so i ended up going to work for another contractor and i could only average since obama got elected -- whether or not it was his policies or not, i learned having a business that every four years typically business would slow down because it is an election year and people vote with their wallets. when i shut my business down after nine years, i went to work for another contractor which was a year or two into obama's administration then bent i could barely average three months of work per year. i was not collecting unemployment out of pride so i was living off my savings. i sold my house right at the height of the housing bubble just before it burst.

i budgeted $80,000 and thought i could make it last three and a half years. it is all gone now and i am broke and i filed for unemployment. people were beating up on romney saying we feel like victims. i am ready to buy into that. i feel like a victim. i am ready to go out there and get every government assistance program i can get because i have given up. i agree with romney. he's right. we are victims. i hope we get a new administration in there that puts me back to work. i will work for myself. small businesses is the keystone for this country. if these fools on capitol hill let us go back to what this country used to be, they can go back to their system and get their own health care and we

will take it from there. that is how i feel. host: do you have two minutes to stay on the line? i have no idea if the next caller is going to be an obama or romney supporter or not, but we will see what comes out. georgie, brianna, good morning to you. caller: good morning. how are you this morning custom? i am a single mom. last year i was in the hospital and i could not vote. this year i will be voting. i am ready to see a change in the white house. i am ready to see the average american be able to taste their dreams and not see the worry about the government pushing them back.

host: will you be voting for mitt romney? caller: with obamacare, there are going to be some good changes and then i see there are going to be some bad changes. my child is on medicaid right now. i am waiting to see what obama will do for me. i cannot say whether i agree or disagree on that the bay. the white house needs to stop painting a perfect picture and start realizing we are in debt to our eyeballs and we need to start looking at the average american family and household, lower income families, and start seeing what those families really need. it needs to take america by storm.

they need to do what our forefathers did for us. host: mike in alabama. oh, no! we just lost our friend. i hit the wrong button. i asked him to stay on the line and then i just cut him off. hopefully we will talk to you again in 30 days. i apologize, brent. this is mike in alabama then that you are on the "washington journal." what did you think of the debate last night? why are you a first-time voter? caller: thank you for taking my call. the debate i did not hear anything different than what they have been hearing all along

on the campaign trail. this election is so critical to the future of americans. i have been following it as much as i can. it matches the commercials that are out there and the stuff that is on youtube. host: how old are you? caller: i am in the over 40 range. host: you have never voted in a presidential election? caller: i just retired from the military and most of the time i have been deployed overseas. host: but you could still vote absentee. caller: i could have. i tried to register once and the process was ridiculous. i think it is kind of scary that now they are saying you do not

even need identification to vote. that is just crazy as far as i am concerned. what is stopping somebody from taking a whole truck of voters to polling station to polling station if you do not even have to have a identification to vote? you have no control on it. host: just to be clear, at this point you are voting in this election because? caller: because we have to make a difference. i have always had by and said, yeah, whenever. that is the problem. if nobody gets out there and vote, they do not have any right to say we should have done something different. host: do you know who you are

voting for? caller: no, i do not. i do not think obama did very well last night. but then broughromney comes acrs like he sounds like he is pretty anxious to start another war in iran without hesitation. i just retired from the military and i can tell you -- ask the military what they think about these wars. my family did not appreciate me being gone all the time. it does not benefit america. so, if romney wants to throw us into another war -- when bush left, he was pumping like $9 billion a month into iraq. now obama is up to $7 million a month in afghanistan.

if romney wants to throw us in another war, we will never recover. i don't know. i am totally undecided. 1 day obama sounds better and romney is scary, but then obama this regard to the constitution penn bank it is going to be difficult. i think it is a real shame that ron paul did not have the courage to encourage with the election. . .

caller: we have had so many

trubbleds and financial issues that have -- and so many troubles and financial issues that have come up. i really admire mitt romney's ideals. i don't think obama has done anything during his time in office. guest: did you watch the debate last night? caller: i did. guest: give us your quick impression. caller: i loved the energy mitt romney gave. i loved that i could understand everything he is talking about. even though i haven't always been into politics. i tried to understand obama while he was speaking, but it seemed like he kept trying to kind of -- paint romney with a wrong picture or say wrong facts.

and sounded like romney had to continue to correct him. that's not what my campaign has been about, that's not what i've been saying. host: so you are 21, baby on the way, and food stamps. mitt romney mentioned the increase in food stamp use across the countryful and -- across the country. you probably heard the "47%" comment. what's your reaction to that? >> in iowa we don't take pride on the fact we are living on food stamps now. we don't want to use it as a crutch or a lifestyle. we want to earn our living. but being on food stamps, right now it is a stepping stone for us. it will help us get back on our feet.

i feel about -- during a recession you don't want to tax people more. our lives are already hurting. we want the wealthy to -- we don't want to tax them more because they are going to provide the middle class people jobs. if they are getting jobs, they will have more money. host: thank you for your time this morning. good luck on your marriage and with the new baby. and a final call in the category of first-time voters comes from latoy in alabama. caller: good morning. i love your show very much. host: why are you a first-time voter? caller: like one of the callers said, just not having been into

politics and feeling that everybody was included. after the last election and after bush, i said i would get more into presidential politics. now i have been watching more and paying more attention to the debates. i watched the republican convention, democratic convention. i am interested. i have kids, married. host: what got you to this election? are you registered now? caller: yes, i am. host: what caused you to register this election? caller: going bacg

the bush epidemic, everything was going down hill. the wars were up, the banks were down, the banks were getting over. host: are you supporting the president for re-election? caller: yes, i am. there are some things i do not agree with. i'm looking to see if romney actually has something to offer. host: did mitt romney offer you anything last night?

caller: last night there was not enough details. that's what everyone is saying. i don't understand. they say he won. to me romney did look better than he usually looked. that was an uplift. that's what shocked everybody. across the country, i did not get a clear message on where he is going, where the numbers are coming from, to put down any -- to answer any other critics. it's like, where are the numbers coming from? he kept talking around things and avoiding issues. it was like he was just more attacking obama's policies instead of speaking on his own policies. host: where is dessimer, and what do you do there? caller: i'm in a small town next to birmingham, between

tuscaloosa. host: and you are doing warehouse work. caller: california, the housing market and all that, you know? the housing market is crashing over there, you know. so obama obama -- so alabama is doing ok. host: do you watch this program every morning? caller: i watch c-span a lot.

romney said he was going to get rid of tv -- pbs. that's crazy. pbs raised me. a lot of the programs are so educational. that's the best you can come up with? it's part of my life. host: latroy, thank you for your time this morning from alabama. we have one more segment left in this marathon "washington journal" getting reaction to last night's debate and taubing to you a little bit about the campaigns and everything. we're talking to obama supporters, mitt romney supporters. we want to get your reaction. if you watched the debate last

night, we want to hear what you thought, think about what candidates. if you are a romney supporter, 202-585-3881, if you are an obama supporters, 202-585-3880. we want to hear your opinions. the new york sometimes, this is michael cooper, "taking stock of some of the claims and counterclaims." you heard about the tax cut from

president obama. people out of quork, that was from romney. "the new york times" has brought their take on it and what they think people should know on these issues. instead of bullet points you can go to nytimes.com if you are interested in reading that for yourself. so last night one of the issues that came up was government subsdepizz of -- government subsidies of companies. here's mitt romney talking about that. >> first of all, the department of energy said tax breaks to oil companies is $2.8 million a year. it's an accounting situation that's been in place for 100 years. in one year, you provided $90 billion in breaks to the green energy world. now, i like green energy as well. but that's about 50 years worth of what oil and gas receives. you say exxon and mobile,

actually this goes to drilling. if we get that tax rate from 38% down to 25%, that 2.8 is on the table. of course it's on the table. don't forget, you put $90 billion, 50 years worth of breaks, into solar and wind, so to solindra, and tuscra. i have a friend that said you don't just pick the winners and losers, you pick the losers. this is not the kind of policy you want to have if you want to get america energy secure. host: all right. about 20 minutes left on "washington journal" this morning. we want to get your reaction on last night's debate. we received this tweet. "the private sector and silver bullet in beating up government

plus surplus appeal has failed to slow health care costs." let's talk to joe on our mitt romney supporter line from florida. hi, joe. caller: hi. host: what did you think of the debate last night and why are you supporting mitt romney? caller: i don't know if you can call that a debate last night. mitt romney absolutely mowed president obama. i almost felt bads for the president. host: why? caller: the president looked very weak, and he's still our president. host: who did you vote for in 2008? caller: president bush.

no i voted for mccain. what was your question? host: why are you supporting mitt romney? anything you want to add? caller: yeah, it looks like the man has complete control of the economy. business. i think we need a business man in there. host: what do you do in land o

lakes, florida? caller: i am a medical doctor. host: what kind of doctor? caller: family practice. host: and what -- caller: i think more money needs to be spent by the middle class. host: can you explain what you mean? caller: it is a mandate. everyone needs to have medical insurance. the middle class is being forced to have this medical insurance when they perhaps they didn't need to, perhaps they can't afford to. the mandate was you have to do it or it's punishable. i don't know if you can get -- i don't know if you can go to jail, but i know you can get fined if you don't have it.

host: do you take medicare patients? caller: no, i don't. host: that is one of the issues brought up by some of our callers. that this will lead to less doctors taking less medicaid patients. caller: medicare, medicaid. yes, that is true. some of my colleagues have stopped taking those patients. really, the fundamental problem here is that the patients that were being dropped, basically, doctors services are not being paid for. you have maybe -- you can do an ekg, and it is $500 for a regular patient, i'm just giving an example. a medcade patient, maybe you get paid, i don't know, $80. it's still a business.

you still have to run your office. you still need to pay off your bills. you still need to pay off student loans and all that on your end. host: joe, do you think doctors -- i'm sorry to keep you, but we had dr. marty mccarry on, he's written a new book called "unaccountable." one of the issues we talked about is doctors don't put out a price list. if someone called your office and said, i need an e.k.g. done, would you be able to give them a price? caller: i think so. i don't see why not. it goes more than that. you can't just ask for an e.k.g. it has to be medically necessary, and as a doctor, you have to determine if you need one. host: is there one set price for

an e.k.g.? and i should say one set reimbursement rate by different groups, insurance companies, medicare, medicaid? caller: no. no, there isn't. there are varying set prices, mostly by the insurance companies. i'm not sure how they developped their models. some insurance pays more, some pays left. it's difficult. i'm not sure how they come up with these models. host: that was joe in land o lakes, florida. we appreciate your time. next up is stharne -- next is sharon from omaha, nebraska, on our democrats line. what did you think of the debate last night? caller: i that i thought the gay was fair. romney seemed to come off as very aggressive.

he needed to come out and prove himself. i'm sorry. i kind of like watching -- i kind of like want the perspective voters to say, what can he do in four years? i'm a true democratic. mitt romney sort of came off, he don't have a plan about anything, what he want to do with the country and everything. i feel like the moderator, where was he at? he seemed like he was disappointed like what mitt romney said, i'm going to take your job away. i'm going to fake away obama care. sorry, president. the president, we got to realize, he's the president. so he don't have to prove himself. mitt romney need to prove himself on why we need to elect him. i'm sorry for all these people

out there that don't vote. you-all are the disappointing people. you 40-some years old, you-all. you people old enough to vote, where were you all at? you on the side of voters, you -- you-all undecided voters, you need to make a decision, how is mitt romney going to affect you? the president, we got more debates. one good thing about this, he is the president. mitt romney is running for president. people need to realize he's a rich tycoon. i'm sorry, when he was talking about the 47%, i'm in that mode. i don't make a lot of money. i don't disrespect mitt romney. he's running for president. i have to respect that. but my president, i think he's going to take us on the right path. look at what he's going to do for you. look at what is going to affect the country and the world? look at the fact that he can

come across as a good guy. he's a likeable person. i'm going to vote democrat. look at all those undecided voters, look at what this man is going to do for you and your family. don't look at what he's going to do for somebody that's a rich person. i can't get mad about somebody making more money and is richer than me. mitt romney is a rich guy, he don't care about the poor people. president obama, i would have told mitt romney myself, who is the 47% you are talking about? i want to give the president a chance. i'm looking forward to this ryan and biden debate, the vice president. i hope joe biden goes out there and doesn't just say nothing. my president, you got to get better, i'm sorry. host: sharon, thank you very much for your time and for calling into "the washington journal." she mentioned the vice

president's debate, that is next week at center college in kentucky. thursday october, 11. a preview program will begin at 7:00. the actual debate will happen at 9:00. and after the debate, just as we always do, your reaction, hearing from you, going to the spin room. if you go to c-span.org, to our debate hub there, you will be able to watch it online. you will also be able to watch some of the cameras that will be available. so instead of one tv, there is a tv on, you can turn on one of the other cameras available on the debate hub. you can look at past debates as well. you can follow the tweets. we are taking tweets at the

hashtag tweet 2012. if you are interested in that, c-span.org. again, vice president's -- vice-presidential debate next week. we are also live with that on c-span at noon. noon, 5:00 p.m. eastern time, mitt romney and president obama zsh paul ryan, 6:45 p.m. eastern time live on c-span or

c-span.org. i think both of those will also be live on c-span radio as well. dennis, granite city, illinois. dennis, who are you supporting for president and what did you think of the debate last night? caller: i am going with mitt romney. our president for the last four years, as everyone knows, has been absent. no-show. last night at the debate, he was absent. no-show. 28 million people are suffering because of his absence. his absence in the congress. people have to open their eyes now. you cannot keep ignoring what has happened over the past afour years. based on what he says, he's going to do the next four years based on what he's already showed he's not doing in the past four years. he set himself up for this

debate last night. obama set himself up. he knows he didn't do nothing, and then he tries to get on stage. how can he defend himself. he can't. that's why he looked down. it's a disgrace. host: did you vote for him in 2 -- did you vote in 2008. caller: i voted in 2008, and i voted for mccain. host: and why did you call in on this line? caller: i'll be honest with you, i couldn't get through on the other line.

host: thank you for your call. we would appreciate if you call in on the line you -- the correct line. next caller from missouri. caller: i appreciate what the last caller said, but i think he didn't want to come off as an angry black man. i am supporting obama. one reason is i work across the street from the steel workers. when obama brought out -- host: you mean mitt romney and b ain capital, mitt romney?

caller: yes. they took down the six flag poles. the other reason is that obama -- not obama, but the blind trust that mitt romney has -- and i use the word "blind trust" with quotation marks, is buying into communist chinese oil companies that are drilling in iran. now, you fact check me, please. this man is a used car salesman. he has backed off every position that he has had. he's a bunch of hot air. host: that was scott in kansas city, missouri. now connecticut on our mitt romney line. caller: i think romney did a good job. i don't understand the people saying he's not giving enough information. he definitely is. he just proved that he is going

to be able to get this country out of the mess that it's in. that obama has put us in. and i think -- i'm i'm praying there are enough intelligent people that will see that governor romney is the person that we need in the white house. host: what is it like to be a republican in connecticut? caller: i'm actually an independent, but i lean right. host: what is it like to be an independent supporting romney in connecticut? caller: i have to say, i know a lot of people who are pro-romney. i know a lot of people pro-obama as well. i think a lot of people are disappointed in obama. he made a lot of promises he didn't keep. i think he and the democratic party have been extremely negative. i feel like definitely they have been putting out a lot of lies about governor romney. especially last night, the

governor kept repeating, i'm not going to allow a billion dollar tax cut, and the president just kept repeating it. it seems like they just keep repeating the same lies over and over hoping people will accept them. i am glad governor romney is running. people also saying the governor is aggressive. i think it is because the moderator was allowing the president to go on and on and not stopping him. the governor had to say, look, give me a chance to say something. i think he did a great job. host: i want to thank everyone for calling in the last three hours. it has been a lot of fun because we have had a chance to spend a little more time with you this morning and go out and get a little bit behind your views. sometimes on "the washington journal" we have to rush through. it was a lot of fun to talk with it was a lot of fun to talk with everybody this mourning.